Dina Macki
In the ever-evolving landscape of food and dining, with a global fusion of flavors influencing culinary education, it seemed to only be a matter of time before a book on the food of Oman would come along - no small feat. Food writer Dina Macki provides just that and more in her cookbook Bahari: Recipes from an Omani Kitchen and Beyond, a deep dive into the world of Omani cuisine.
Sandra Velasquez
It is said that constraint can breed creativity. This was certainly the case for Sandra Velasquez, who a few years ago found herself unemployed and with no savings. During this time, she began to ideate a beauty brand rooted in her Mexican heritage and in the iconic cultural symbol, the cactus. Her brand eventually became Nopalera, a Mexican botanicals bath and body-care line. As Sandra shares, “The idea for Nopalera was born from a place of discomfort. I was at a crossroads in my life.” Yet, Sandra’s firm belief in the impact a brand like Nopalera could have on the skincare market, elevating and celebrating Mexican culture, propelled her forward. Four years since the launch of Nopalera, the brand is now stocked at more than 700 retail doors, including boutiques, clean beauty retailer Credo Beauty, and notable U.S. retail giants such as Nordstrom and Kohl’s with plans for international expansion in 2025. Sandra sat down with Falta and shared her journey to founding Nopalera.
Natalie Enslöw
In the increasingly crowded beauty landscape, fjör has stood out as an emerging disruptor. Cue founder Natalie Enslöw, who a few years ago quit her corporate job to start her own company on the basis of three core pillars, before even having conceptualized her brand or product. Of fjör she says, “I knew that no matter what the product would be, it had to be something that was simple, powerful and accessible.” Those attributes have carried through, partnering with a biotech to harness the power of hydrolytic enzyme technology in the form of a serum, and creating an expanding minimalist skincare brand designed to boost the skin’s microbiome.
Ade Hassan
Berry, Cinnamon, Caramel and Café au Lait are hues of nude and bespoke colors we’ve become familiar with thanks to fashion brand, Nubian Skin. At its helm is financier turned fashion designer, Ade Hassan, whose keen foresight along with a social media campaign that went viral, led Nubian Skin to become the first fashion brand to offer a line of lingerie in plenty of brown shades. It’s no wonder, then, that Ade has cemented herself as a pioneer in the world of fashion.
Melanie Liaw & Micaela Nardella
When design duo Melanie Liaw and Micaela Nardella launched their interior-design studio, Duelle, they did so in the midst of a pandemic and 800 miles apart. The pair, based in London and Milan respectively, have more than twenty years of combined interiors experience. Born of their reverence for artfully curated spaces coupled with their international outlook, these are just some of the underpinnings of Duelle.
Conversations with Jessica Wolf
Jessica Wolf is keenly aware of the power community holds. She has harnessed her ability to catalyze connection through senior leadership roles at companies such as NeueHouse, Summit and Forbes, where community building is an integral part of their ethos. In 2021, Jessica co-founded Skye, a platform for coaching where leaders are matched with an executive coach. We sat down with Jessica to talk about career defining moments, what inspired her to pursue co-founding Skye, and how she views Skye’s impact so far.
Conversations with Samantha Jameson
In 2010, London-based entrepreneur Samantha Jameson founded Soapsmith, a range of soaps, hand creams and bath products, inspired by the uniqueness of London, the experiences it has to offer and the sensorial moments and memories it ignites. In this episode, Samantha shares how she transformed her passion for soap making and fragrances into a viable business, her journey in partnering with luxury and emblematic brands such as Harrod’s, Fortnum & Mason and others, the power of nostalgia and the importance of never taking ‘No’ for an answer.
Conversations with Alisa Pospekhova
Alisa Pospekhova is the Founder and CEO of Kindroot, a line of plant-based lozenges infused with vitamins, adaptogens, herbs and aromatherapy flavors. In this episode, Alisa talks about what inspired her to create Kindroot (hint: TSA played a role. No, really.), the company’s expansion into retailers including Target and Anthropologie, her biggest lesson learned in the past year and the importance of not comparing yourself to others.
Conversations with Lulu Rozenberg
Meet Luciana (Lulu) Rozenberg, the Founder of Naissant, her debut solo line of stylish and functional accessories. As the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic began to set in, Lulu saw an opportunity to pivot and lay the foundations for a handbag company that would eventually become Naissant. She says “I always knew that I wanted to have my own business [and] as soon as I started getting my paychecks, half of it would go to my savings account.” It was this saviness, combined with her creativity and rigor that allowed her to fully immerse herself into Naissant. Soon after the company’s launch, the Naissant Ciana Belt Bag was featured in Maluma’s and Justin Quiles’ music video “La Botella” (for reference, Maluma and Justin Quiles have a combined instagram following of 70+ million followers - talk about exposure!). Listen to Lulu tell us about her journey of moving from Argentina to New York to accelerate her career and the impact she hopes to have through Naissant.
Conversations with Cristina Nuñez
Meet Cristina Nuñez, the Co-Founder and General Partner of True Beauty Ventures, a venture capital firm focused exclusively on beauty and wellness. The emergence of True Beauty Ventures and the impact it is having on the industry is no accident. Cristina, along with Co-Founder Rich Gersten, have been working arduously to support the growth and scaling of businesses into successful and resilient beauty and wellness brands. In our first recorded interview, we sat down with Cristina to unpack her journey towards founding True Beauty Ventures, including key inflection points she has experienced along the way, the continued change she hopes to drive through True Beauty, and how she stays balanced in the midst of it all.
Brittney McDonald
Multidisciplinary company, BLANK, aims to bridge the gap between sustainable solutions and creative expression, specifically within art, food and fashion. Its founder, Brittney McDonald, explains how and what she’s learned along the way.
Georgia Messinger & Ari Sokolov
In 2017 we met Trill Co-Founders, Georgia Messinger and Ari Sokolov. At the time, they were at the cusp of entering a new phase in their lives, becoming full fledged university students, all while they began to emerge as agents of change, building and securing funding for Trill, one of the first teen apps focused on self care. In 2021, Trill was acquired by Blue Fever, a Gen Z wellness app backed by Amazon’s Alexa Fund, Bumble Fund and Serena Williams. We caught up with Georgia and Ari to learn about their journey and what they have learned as young entprenenurs along the way.
Natasha Case
Natasha Case founded Coolhaus in 2009 with Freya Estreller after she was working in architecture at Walt Disney Imagineering. They launched their architecturally-inspired, unique ice cream sandwich company from their barely drive-able postal van at the Coachella Music Festival to an audience of 100,000. They built a loyal following over the festival weekend and returned to LA to an abundance of viral press, a rapidly building social media following, and an eager foodie audience. Since then, Natasha has been named a Forbes 30 under 30 Food & Beverage, Zagat 30 Under 30, Linked in 10 under 35 for Food & Leisure, as well as being featured in many national publications and radio like Cosmo, Dwell, and NPR, and TV shows including Food Network’s Chopped, Barefoot Contessa, Unique Sweets, Good Morning America, King of Cones, Andy Cohen Live and many more. The company has become one of the leading innovative small dessert businesses, growing significantly to include 4 trucks and 2 storefronts in LA, 2 trucks and one cart in NYC, and 4 trucks in Dallas, Texas. Moreover, consumers can now find Coolhaus’ pre-packaged ice cream sandwiches, hand-dipped bars, and hand-packed pints in 5,000+ gourmet grocery stores nationally ranging from Whole Foods to Safeway Albertson’s, and internationally in Asia and the Middle East. Today Natasha works as the CEO of Coolhaus, creating new product opportunities from development to design, building new relationships and innovating ideas that keep Coolhaus on top of it's game as zealous expansion continues. This is her story.
Sofia Haq
Sofia Haq was born and raised in Southern California to a Pakistani and Iraqi father and a Mexican and Spanish mother. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2015 majoring in Gender Studies and participated in an International Business study abroad program at the London School of Economics. After learning more about the business side of luxury goods while in London, as well as exploring British designers like Victoria Beckham and Alexander McQueen, she made the transition from healthcare to luxury goods. Since late 2015, Sofia has been working with various e-commerce and luxury brands in areas including: marketing, strategy, and operations. Currently, she is a freelance marketing consultant in the retail and tech industries, Founder of Muslim Women Professionals, Riordan Alumni Member, and 2018 MBALauncher at the Forté Foundation. She is an advocate for minorities in the business, tech, and fashion industries.
Idalia Salsamendi
What do Chriselle Lim, Brittany Xavier, and Alexandra Pereira have in common other than being known for their impecaable style and their growing business empires? Idalia Salsamendi, business strategist to top influencers and fashion houses. She has been at the forefront of the digital space explosion and evolution, connecting some of the most powerful fashion brands with some of the biggest fashion influencers since her mid-twenties. Being at the cusp of something that can alter the norm and challenge the status quo can be daunting if not paralyzing, but not for Idalia. There’s “fun in seeing beyond the horizon and [setting] sail,” she says. Idalia began to do just that, working in both Los Angeles and New York City where she learned and tested how the traditional modeling space could evolve and marry into the digital world. She has leveraged her insights to help propel influencers and bloggers forward and cement themselves as entrepreneurs and business women. No small feat. But for Idalia, if life gives you lemons, you don’t limit yourself to making lemonade. You start your own lemon orchard, understand it’s complexities and use it to nourish, flourish and give back. Here, Idalia shares what she’s learned throughout her professional journey and we kick off our first edition of “Rapid Round” questions, where we connect over everything from morning must-haves to best life decisions made to female leader icons.
Jill Manoff
Taking risks and betting on herself has allowed Jill Manoff to pave her own way in media. This Missouri native currently serves as the Editor in Chief of Glossy, the media brand that explores the evolution of fashion and beauty through the lens of digital and technology. Before joining Glossy, Jill was the editor of Glam.com and searsStyle. Jill shares that in her journey towards finding the right job “I knew I had this creative passion for fashion.” It would be this sense of clarity that would serve as her cornerstone and propel her forward in seeking out opportunities in media that would eventually lead her to San Francisco and New York. It’s been several years since she took on her first job in media, eventually working her way up to editor at different brands. What she’s learned since is that “you shouldn’t put limits on yourself for any reason. If you work hard, you can compete in any arena.” Working hard, and having fun, she most definitely is.
Elizabeth Kurpis
This interview, which took place before COVID-19 began to take hold in the U.S., was written as profound changes to daily life were being seen and felt across the country. Elizabeth Kurpis, a New York resident, has been affected like all of us. She recently shared, “[n]o matter how much our lives have changed in the short term, we have our health, family and the future to look forward to. Focusing on the things that matter most right now can help motivate one to push past this difficult time, and for me, has allowed a small, yet faint light shine through at the end of a very dark tunnel.”
Vivian Nuñez
Sheltering in place, social isolation, loss of income, loss of a loved one, are just some of the devastating effects since the COVID-19 pandemic began. It is against this backdrop of uncertainty that we spoke to Vivian Nuñez, a mental health advocate, writer and the founder of Too Damn Young, an online community and resource for teens and young adults who have experienced the loss of a loved one. We jumped into the deep end of the mental health conversation with Vivian, and asked her for her advice on coping strategies and how we can begin to prepare ourselves mentally as cities, states and countries around the world begin to ease their lockdown restrictions and cautiously reopen. May is Mental Health Month and considering what is happening in our world during this anxiety-filled time, there seems to be no better time than now to proactively prioritize our mental well being. Vivian shares that “figuring out your own fear and pain points and [identifying] where you're starting from will [allow you] to create a plan that's cohesive to what you need to tend to.” She also provides tips on how to re-establish friendships post shelter at home and her thoughts on how the pandemic will transform young people.
Mabel Frias
Traveling in time through Latin culture with references to reggaeton and cultural icons like Celia Cruz or Walter Mercado’s signature line “Salud, Dinero y Amor” (a favorite Latino astrologer and TV staple), are just some glimpses into Latino upbringing that Mabel Frias and Shaira Frias have creatively captured in their beauty brand, Luna Magic. The Latino vibes are palpable. “Our mission is to celebrate our multicultural heritage and bring a splash of color and excitement to the beauty industry,” shared Mabel Frias, co-founder of Luna Magic. We recently interviewed Mabel, who shared with us everything from what’s surprised her about her entrepreneurial journey so far to how she views the COVID-19 pandemic transforming indie brands and the beauty industry. In our rapid round of questions, we learn what her favorite place in the world is (hint: think art, architecture, renaissance), the important topic her book would be dedicated to if she wrote one, and more!
Alisa Pospekhova
How do you make the leap from CPG branding executive to founder of your own health and wellness supplement brand? Just ask Alisa Pospekhova, who recently launched Kindroot, a new innovative brand of supplements that aim to disrupt the category. Encouraging all to be sweet to themselves so they can inspire others to do the same, is a cornerstone value of the company. In this interview, you’ll learn about how Alisa has learned to blend art and science in the several marketing roles she has held throughout her career, culminating in senior positions at global companies, and how she has leveraged fifteen years of marketing experience to venture out and create her own company. Alisa shares insights about her entrepreneurial journey, why she has come to embrace challenges and how she’s put into practice the notion of being sweet to herself by encouraging herself to stay motivated, “stick with it, and see the vision through.” In turn, she’s inspiring us to do the same.